The Novaya Opera Theatre of Moscow was founded in 1991 on the initiative of Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov and Evgeny Kolobov, Artistic Director of the theatre. Since its inception, the theatre, operating on the contemporary contract basis, has been a leading opera house in Russia, winning recognition from opera lovers and the most exacting critics.

The artistic creed of the theatre can be defined as enthusiastic creative quest and bold innovation. Evgeny Kolobov, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Novaya Opera, regards any score, whether classical or modern, as "a springboard for interpretation". Such productions as Donizetti‘s Maria Stuarda, Verdi‘s I Due Foscari, "O Mozart! Mozart..." (based on the opera "Mozart and Salieri" by Rimsky-Korsakov and Mozart‘s Requiem), Tchaikovsky‘s Eugene Onegin, Catalani‘s La Wally, the modern opera First Love by the Moscow composer Golovin, Rubinstein‘s The Demon, Verdi‘s La Traviata and Rigoletto, Thomas‘s Hamlet, Mascagni‘s Cavalleria Rusticana, the musical performance "Bravissimo", Verdi‘s Requiem, the musical divertissement "Rossini", Rimsky-Korsakov‘s Snow Maiden and The Tzar‘s Bride, Leoncavallo‘s Pagliacci, Belini‘s Norma, Glinka‘s Ruslan and Lyudmila have received high acclaim from the Moscow theatrical public.

One of the theatre‘s most important principles is to ensure that the professional skills and versatility of the choir, the orchestra and the soloists are maintained at as high a level as possible.

A number of the theatre‘s opera soloists have been awarded the titles "People‘s Artist of Russia" (Yulia Abakumovskaya and Emma Sarkisyan) and "Honoured Artist of Russia" (Marat Gareyev, Elena Svechnikova and Marina Zhukova). The young opera singers who have permanent engagements with the theatre have won many awards at international contests. The theatre also has a group of trainee singers. Frequently, Novaya Opera performances feature world opera stars, such as Victoria Lukyanets, Galina Pisarenko, Lyubov Kazarnovskaya, Paata Burchuladze, Dmitry Khvorostovsky and others.

The Novaya Opera Orchestra, a versatile team of brilliant musicians, is a full-fledged participant in the theatre‘s operatic performances. The important part it is invariably assigned has to do with the wide-ranging artistic interests of Evgeny Kolobov and the other conductors of the theatre - Evgeny Samoilov, Anatoly Gus, Sergei Lysenko and Dmitry Volosnikov. In addition to playing for the New Opera, the Orchestra frequently performs symphony programmes in the best concert halls of Russia and abroad.

The Novaya Opera Choir is an integral part of all of the theatre‘s operatic productions. To improve its mastery of choral singing, the Choir also performs sacred music, large-scale cantatas and oratorios.

The new building of the Novaya Opera, constructed in the Hermitage Garden in 1997, has an audience capacity of more than 700 and is supplied with state-of-the-art lighting equipment and stage machinery, which make it possible to create productions with complicated stage effects. The theatre also has audio and video recording studios.

Touring worldwide, the company has received international recognition. It has successfully performed in Italy, Spain, the USA (New York - Carnegie Hall, Broadway), Germany (Munich, where the performance of Glinka‘s Ruslan and Lyudmila won the theatrical award "Week Star" given by Die Deutsche Zeitung), France (Paris - the Champs-Elysees Theatre), Israel (Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem), Portugal, Yugoslavia, Israel, Finland, Turkey,Cyprus, Athens, Thailand, Singapore, Belorussia, Ukrainea.

The company has deservedly been rewarded for its mastery of performing and originality of staging: the theatre is honoured with the independent national theatrical prize "Golden Mask", which was awarded to the theatre in the 1996/97 season for its production of Tchaikovsky‘s Eugene Onegin (as "the best musical performance of the season"), and with the prestige national prize "Triumph" (awarded to Evgeny Kolobov).